London - H&M, Nike and
Asos were amongst the 13 fashion and textile brands who signed the
sustainable cotton pledge earlier this month. Last month, the industry came
together at leading denim trade show Kingpins, part of Amsterdam
Denim Days, and stirred up the sustainable denim debate.

Op-ed by: Dio Kurazawa, Director of Denim at WGSN,
who has close to 20 years of experience in the world of denim.

While these are small and honorable steps towards, to truly become
sustainable, the fashion and textile industry needs to change the way they
operate. Given the lack of formal regulation for sustainable textile
production, the industry needs to rethink business models rather than
acting sporadically and in isolation. Creating one-off sustainable
collections, talking about pledges for environmentally sound cotton and
denim production will only be effective if they are part of a bigger
movement. A movement towards sustainable businesses in a sustainable
society that focuses every decision they make on the environment.

Sustainability as a concept has been buzzing for a while now, but its
precise definition remains unclear. And because of this low level of
clarity, there is no parameter that it can be measured against. For
example, how do we know that reducing water usage by 1 percent during
garment production equals sustainability? The process of creating such
necessary parameters is underway, but it comes as no surprise that when
politics and society deny climate change, the conversation can only go so
far.

Many brands struggle to establish social responsibility as a core corporate
value. It’s hard work, involves lots of persuasion, and patience while
running the risk of coming across as pretentious and dishonest.

As trend forecasters, we work hand in hand with the industry: helping them
see what’s going to happen and what to do about it. But I can’t tell you to
fasten your seatbelt and not fasten mine. So, we decided to experience
first-hand what brands go through when making such a shift and the
challenges of producing sustainable fashion. In April, we launched our
first ever sustainable denim sample collection in partnership with Avery
Dennison, M&J Group, Absolute Denim and Amsterdam Denim Days.

When making the collection, we came to realize that most suppliers, despite
having innovative products focused on sustainability, had low stock of our
chosen materials, due to lack of demand. The lack of demand is because
right now, the industry has no legal responsibility to be sustainable.
There are no regulating departments for the textile industry like there are
in the food industry, for example. Without the parameters and proper
governance, manufacturers aren’t asked enough to create sustainable fabrics
and materials. We found that it doesn’t start with a brand saying they want
to make a sustainable collection. It starts with the industry demanding
sustainability.

So why do brands make the effort to create sustainable collections and sign
pledges when, in reality, they don’t necessarily have to? Because
not-for-profit organizations such as Greenpeace are urging a movement
towards environmentally sound behavior by increasingly creating awareness
for social responsibility with the consumer. And the consumer listens.
Previously driven by price point and choice, today’s fashion consumers
progressively expect sustainable products, processes, and behavior. This
forces the industry to rethink their business models in order to continue
growth. The question remains whether it also ensures that fashion and
textile brands truly adopt sustainability across the board, given the lack
of formal monitoring.

"To me, sustainability is a departure from tradition"

Dio Kurazawa, Director of Denim at WGSN

Sustainability can only happen when society starts changing its habits,
addressing climate change head on and demanding sustainability in the
fashion industry. Corporate conventions are at stake here too. Change
towards truly sustainable behavior must come from within, driven by a
redefinition of core corporate values of fashion and textile brands. Take
Patagonia as a role model. They consider every stitch, every fabric and
each manufacturer before they create, design and produce anything. That is
what I believe every fashion and textile company should be doing.

The fashion industry is at a crossroads now. It cannot exist without
claiming to be sustainable anymore because NGOs such as Greenpeace are
demanding environmental consciousness and consumer’s expectations mirror
that. However, signing pledges and showing collections won’t be effective
when actioned in isolation. We need standalone statements and collections
to become a thing of the past, and a socially conscious mindset be applied
across the board to create a ‘sustainable industry’.

This is
an op-ed piece written by Dio Kurazawa, Director of Denim at WGSN. With
close to 20 years of experience in the world of denim from design,
development, washing and finishing, and fabric sourcing, Dio brings a vast
amount of industry experience. He has previously worked for many of WGSN's
top clients and has consulted for the likes of Levi’s, Forever 21, C&A,
Bestseller China, and Tommy Hilfiger to name a few. A passionate
conservationist, Dio is very eager to promote cutting edge denim
innovations that are not only trend driven, but environmentally sound.